keep on rockin’ me baby

In an attempt to bring forth Spring, last week I doodled a flock of super-powered avian adventurers. Yet as I’m typing this, snow is falling. AGAIN. Guess I’ll have to up my game for next week… In the mean time, take a gander at these guys and gals (and ducks) and be sure and Tweet them to all your fine-feathered friends..

WEEK 33: Mar 24 – Mar 28, 2014.

Raven: 3.24.14

The kiddo and I have been binge-watching Teen Titans Go! lately. I always found Raven a bit annoying in the comics, but I dig her slacker/goth vibe in this iteration. Favorite episode is “Meatball Party,” where Raven becomes annoyed at Cyborg’s unending enthusiasm and devours the whole team with the demon tentacles living in her chipped tooth. Typical..

Some of the best things about being a child are the boundless energy, unbridled imagination and a future filled with endless possibilities. The best thing about a child’s art is that it contains elements of all these things… and that every work is a masterpiece.

In honor of Father’s Day, I asked my dad friends to submit their kids’ artwork. Whether it was something recent, something old, or commissioned specifically for this collection, the only requirement was that the papas be proud of it. What I received was an avalanche of awesomeness. Drawings. paintings and sculpture bursting with energy, imagination and endless possibilities. And lots and lots of color. If you know me and my design work, you won’t be surprised if I “borrow” a color palette or two for future projects.

Curating this collection was no small feat, and after considering several options, I chose to group them by subject matter. This creates a nice mix of age, gender and medium in each batch. I realize there are a lot of pieces here, and that most of you probably get bored at art galleries (I know I do)… but please look through the entire gallery. This is spectacular work with some very hilarious, touching — and even rage-filled — back stories.

So welcome to the inaugural* FATHER’S DAY PROUD PAPA GALLERY OF GREATNESS(brought to you by Starbucks). Enjoy the exhibit, and please touch the artwork — it’s even more awesome zoomed in!

Artwork credits key:Title of work medium Artist name, age Father of artist (links to their website/blog) Artist’s (or artist’s dad’s) description

HANDS + FEET

Hola Hand
pencil, crayon on paper
JJ, 3.5Brent AlmondWhile he clearly got some help writing “Hola,” the hand trace and vibrant, Latino colors are all him. Definitely going to nick this palette for my next logo project…

I recently checked in with B, toys, my favorite toy creators on the planet, and they asked me to try out their brand new-ish Global Glowball. Being the clever person I am, I thought it would be a perfect way to celebrate Earth Day!

Looking at the Global Glowball(Their toys just have the most awesome names, don’t they?) online, I was immediately intrigued. B. toys always has top-notch playthings: colorful but not garish; creative, never predictable; exciting without being over-the-top-in-your-face. And of course all their packaging is recyclable or recycled [BONUS EARTH DAY POINTS].

Whoever decided End of Year lists had to be done by the end of the year are just poop-head literalists who clearly don’t have anything better to do than tell us how cool they are.

Now that I have that out of the way… This is my sixth year** posting a Top 10 Albums list (Top 40 Songs to follow…eventually), but the first time on Designer Daddy. In case you’re asking, “How is this dad-related?” – as far as I know, it’s not. But I’m the dad of this blog, and that’s why. I’m also the style maven (Is there a male counterpart to maven? Master? Manven?) and arbiter of all that is hip — in my house at least — so it fits quite nicely in my wheelhouse, thankyouverymuch.

Please enjoy and be sure and let me know YOUR favorites of 2012 in the comments!

Hot Chip has a great knack for crafting songs that are both danceable and heartfelt. As with their last album (One Life Stand), In Our Heads thumps and simmers with lots of energy and emotion, both blissful and deep.
Choice tracks: Night and Day, Motion Sickness, How Do You Do?

Check out the latest homemade (and I use that term loosely — this is some expert stuff) video from Depeche Mode cover band and awesome family, DMK.

Designer Daddy is a huge fan, so as long as this creative clan keeps cranking it out, I’ll keep watching Dicken Schrader, and kids Milah and Korben, grow as performers… and aspiring to be even a fraction as cool.

If you’re looking for the best way to drown out the din of daddyhood (or life in general), enter to win a set of SOL REPUBLIC headphones, valued from $99.99 to $179.99! Sign up below and you could be tuning out Dora, Elmo and The Fresh Beat Band in no time.

Designer daddy that I am, I wouldn’t hook you up with some drab-looking earbuds. These are completely customizable (mix + match colors) and come with interchangeable pieces, a remote and a microphone. You can also choose from several designs featuring college sports teams.

To enter, “log in” using the widget below with your email or Facebook. You’ll then see a list — scroll down and click “Easy entry for all DesignerDaddy fans on Facebook.”You can also Tweet or post about the giveaway here, or “Like” any/all of the dad blogs represented for even more entries!

The giveaway ends January 21 at midnight, and the winner will be contacted within 7 days. If you have any questions, email orenmil@bloggerfather.com. Oren (AKA A Blogger and a Father) headed up this contest and will be responsible for prize fulfillment.

(P.S. I partnered with a few other bloggers for this, all members of a new Facebook group of blogging dads (started by that Oren guy I just mentioned). You can read about the group here, or if you’re a fellow dad blogger, head over to Facebook and click JOIN GROUP.)

So the big trip across the pond is upon us. I admit to having my fair share of nerves leading up to this point, but I suppose by the time you read this I’ll be cruising through the skies, my bambino wistfully slumbering against my shoulder. At least he better be.

A massive amount of preparation has been going on — which I guess is to be expected from two anal-retentive gay dads taking their toddler transatlantically. So a couple of weeks ago we were Skyping with Papa’s Zia Jo (AKA The Cool Aunt) to ask all our most pressing questions: “Do they have playgrounds in Italy?” “What about fish sticks?” “And Dora?” During the conversaton we noticed a lot of Beatles stuff in Zia’s house — she’s a huge fan from back in the day. As in the day when they were still together and taking over the world. That must have been something to behold.

Hence I decided to make JJ a mix CD, a Beatles primer of sorts. Before you read ahead to the track list and blow a gasket, yes there are a few covers by non-Beatles. Keep in mind this is for an almost 3 year old — he needs some variety. Besides, as the son-of-a-preacher man, I had to discover The Beatles on my own. This initially came in the form of The Chipmunks Sing the Beatles Hits (on vinyl, checked out from the library, no less). So I learned my first Beatles songs from some rodents, a few more from the “Stars on 45 Medley,” and then finally discovered the real deal in high school and have been a huge fan ever since.

The Beatles 101

(All songs by The Beatles unless noted otherwise)
Drive My Car (from Rubber Soul) She Loves YouWhen we were teaching JJ animal sounds, Papa taught him that beetles went “She loves you, yeah! yeah! yeah!” You should have seen his eyes the first time he heard the actual song. Now when he hears it, he yells “BEETLES!”All My Loving – Alvin & The ChipmunksOb-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (from The Beatles/White Album)Funnest Beatles song ever? Gets my vote. Although it’s probably about drugs or somesuch.We Can Work It Out Rocky Raccoon (from The Beatles/White Album)
I didn’t realize until I finalized the list how oddly well-represented The White Album was. Whodathunk?You Won’t See Me – Anne MurrayPiggies(from The Beatles/White Album)Hello, Goodbye (from Magical Mystery Tour)Love Me Do – Alvin & The ChipmunksHelp! – CarpentersLeave it to The Carpenters to take a sad song and make it sadder…I’m Looking Through You – The WallflowersTaken from a quite good soundtrack of a semi-okay movie, I Am SamHere Comes The Sun (from Abbey Road)Stars On 45 Medley – Stars On 45I spent many a Saturday roller skating to this baby.Silly Love Songs – Glee CastTake It Away – Paul McCartneyTwo Of Us (from Let It Be… Naked)I love how this version starts with the lovely guitar intro instead of John?/Ringo? yammering about pygmies.All You Need Is Love – (from Magical Mystery Tour)Yesterday (from Help!)I remember learning “Yesterday” and “Help!” in 6th grade music class. Do they still do that?Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey – Paul McCartneyIf I Fell (from A Hard Day’s Night)One of my all-time favoritesBlackbird – Glee CastI challenge all you Glee-haters to listen to this version and not marvel at the sweetness of Chris Colfer’s voice.Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) – John LennonThis song is already on a JJ-inspired mix CD, but it’s too good not to include on every single CD I ever make for him. He heard it tonight and said, “It’s my song!”Yellow Submarine (from Revolver)We’ve been singing this one in the tub since forever ago. Also a great singalong-in-the-car song.

For more Beatles-related kids stuff, check out:

Rockabye Baby
This mix isn’t the first JJ’s hearing of The Beatles. I started him off early, buying both volumes of Rockabye Baby Beatles covers. But we’ve been way beyond lullabies for a while now.

Alright music fans — what essential tune did I leave out? Keep in mind it’s for kids, so no Helter Skelter craziness or Elanor Rigby moroseness. What would you take off? I’m sure there will be a Volume 2 at some point, so all suggestions are welcome!

Are you already having Olympics withdrawal? Wishing Cut Copy would release some new music? Wondering what funky-ass clubs Stefan has been frequenting this summer? Completely befuddled as to when (if ever) there will be new episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba!?

If you answered “yes” to more than one of these questions, you are my new SUPER BEST FRIEND!

As our first SUPER BEST FRIEND activity together, let’s watch a brand new Yo Gabba Gabba! called “Olympics!” It features musical guest Cut Copy and SNL’s Bill Hader doing “The Rainbow Drop” with the Dancey-Dance bunch. I imagine there’s going to be some Olympics-related weirdness as well.

While most of us feel a sense of accomplishment when we teach our kids to ride a bike or say “fart,” overachieving dad Dicken Schrader and his two progeny have released their newest Depeche Mode video, a cover of 1987’s “Black Celebration.”

Looking goth — but definitely celebratory — Dicken, Milah and Korben (DMK) play it more low key this time around with darker clothes, lighting, etc. But you can tell they’re having fun, and of course continuing to be just about the coolest family I’ve ever seen.